The Adventures of Frisk and Fran Bow
by Circus4APsycho8
Summary: like the title says. Originally posted under "Grown-Up Talk".
1. Grown-Up Talk

"Alright, everyone! Today, we'll be learning about the other planets through a partnered activity. I have paired you off according to first name in alphabetical order. We'll start with Aaron and Ashley..."

Frisk sighed heavily as the teacher ran through the other kid's names, tapping their fingernails against the wood of their desk. They never really looked forward to working with other kids in their class for many reasons, from their being bullied to the workload being piled on them. The teacher said that group work was meant to be fun and mind-opening, but it never came across to Frisk that way.

They hated it.

"...Fran Bow and Frisk Dreemurr..."

Frisk never got the opportunity to get to know the quiet girl they'd been paired with. She sat near the back by herself, wearing black-and-white striped leggings under a pale, yellow dress. Her hair was cut in a brown bob, kind of like Frisk's. The girl seemed almost too thin, and her eyes always had a sunken kind of maturity to them.

It reminded Frisk of themselves.

Fran nearly always sat alone, whether it'd been during lunch or in the classroom. She seemed like a sweet girl, but Frisk, too, had heard the rumors about her. That she'd killed her own parent while they slept one night. That she'd been sent to an asylum to be treated for a mental disorder. That she was crazy and couldn't be trusted.

Of course, rumors weren't always true.

"Okay, everyone. Go get with your partner and then come grab a sheet!" yelled the teacher as she frantically waved a fat stack of papers in the air.

Frisk stood hesitantly. They knew that Fran might be too shy to make the first move, so it was up to them. They cautiously picked their way through the flooding mass of students making their way through the classroom, careful not to run into anyone. When the brown-haired child finally made their way through the crowd, they walked up to Fran's desk.

She was rummaging around in her backpack, which sat on the other side of the desk. Frisk decided to wait patiently until she was finished.

Fran re-emerged with a pencil in her grasp, smiling victoriously. When she noticed Frisk, her smile visibly faltered.

"Hi," Frisk started, "I'm your partner."

"O-oh, hi Frisk," Fran replied, a small smile on her face.

"If...you could get some blank sheets of black construction paper, I'll go get the directions and some colored pencils," Frisk offered.

"Okay," Fran responded, standing up again.

Frisk smiled, hoping they could get her to loosen up a little bit.

Ms. Hurley gave Frisk a piece of paper which held the directions on it.

"I think you and Fran will get along," she commented as Frisk took it.

"I hope so," they stated honestly, smiling at the teacher and thanking her before turning towards another desk, which held boxes of various art supplies. Frisk picks out red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, black, and white colored pencils, noting that they would have to sharpen a few of them later on.

They returned to Fran's desk, where she was laying out the blank pieces of construction paper in a line. She proceeded to tape them together by the edges, front and back.

Frisk looked around, and then pushed an unused desk to the one Fran was working on. They then laid out the construction paper so it lay flat on the surface. After that, they snagged another chair to bring over.

"Okay, here are the instructions. 'First, tape together four sheets of paper'. You got that done. 'Secondly, draw the planets in their correct order, starting from the sun and ending with Neptune. Thirdly, label them. Be sure to spell their names correctly! Fourthly, color them. Finally, turn this project in by the end of class, and be prepared to present!'" Frisk finishes.

"I guess it's not that hard," Fran admits.

"Yeah. So. There are eight planets. I'll do the last four if you'll do the first four?" Frisk offered, rolling up the sleeves of their blue-and-purple sweater.

"Sounds like a plan!" Fran responds eagerly.

The pair fell into a companionable silence as the two got to work, drawing the outline of the planets and coloring them in. Frisk reminded themselves to be wary of the outline as to not color outside the lines.

"Earth really is a pretty planet," Fran speaks up suddenly. Her voice contains none of its previous shyness.

"I think so, too. I like how the blues and greens mix with the whites of the clouds," Frisk agrees.

Fran looks up from her drawing, nodding. "Isn't it strange to think that three colors of such different things could come together and be so pretty?"

"It is. Mountains, land, seas, oceans, clouds, smoke..." Frisk drops their pencil. "hey don't really come together on the planet, but when you're in outer space?"

"It's a unique little feature of Earth," Fran replied, returning to her picture.

Frisk nods, their fingertips sliding across her pencil, gently twirling it between their fingers. The two students returned to their pictures, quietly sketching the outlines of distant worlds in gentle strokes of white-colored pencil. They fill in the circles with varying shades of different colors.

"Do you ever think about what would happen if people were able to live and thrive on Mars? If we ever created the technology to do that?" Fran asked, her voice soft and slightly unsteady as she continues to color.

"Unfortunately, I think that people would just...rely too heavily on there being another planet. Another way to live. I feel like they'd just destroy it, kind of like they're doing to this planet. Trashing it, expecting nature to somehow clean up the mess they made." Frisk shut their mouth for a second, flashbacks of Judgment Hall flooding back suddenly. "They destroy one planet only to move on to the next."

Fran nodded. "I feel like you're the only one who feels the same way I do. Whenever I ask other people, they just...give me this weird look. Like I'm-"

"-crazy," Frisk finished for her, putting their pencil down.

Fran looked up, too. "Yeah. Crazy."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Frisk hesitantly placed their hand on Fran's. "You know, I don't believe the rumors about you. I think you're really sweet and smart."

The girl's eyes seem to be almost glassy as she smiled. "Thanks, Frisk. I like you too."

Frisk nodded. "People say the worst things when they don't understand something. Or someone."

"Yeah. Isn't that the truth," Fran agreed.

"Do you...maybe want to sit together at lunch?" Frisk asked, smiling.

"Yeah! That'd be awesome," Fran replied, giving Frisk a genuine smile.

"Great!" Frisk stated, putting her pencil down on the desk and swiping the rest of them off of their paper. "It looks like we're about finished. We just have to label them. What was the silly phrase Ms. Hurley told us?"

"M-V-E-M-J-S-U-N," Fran recalled, "My Very Enthusiastic Mother Just Served Us Noodles!"

"Noodles!" Frisk squealed, then remembered her skeletal friend. "I'll have to introduce you to my friend. He's a skeleton! Actually, I have two skeleton friends!"

Fran gasps, and for a moment, Frisk thought Fran's smile couldn't get any wider. "You have a skeleton friend too?!"

"Oh yeah! Who's your skeleton?" Frisk questioned.

"His name is Itward," Fran replied, "he's really nice and helps me and Mr. Midnight out a lot."

"Who's Mr. Midnight?" Frisk asked as she labels her planets.

"He's my dear kitty! He has fur the color of this paper," Fran remarked, tapping the black paper.

"I bet he's really cute," Frisk commented.

"He is! I'll have to introduce you two." Fran stated. Frisk nodded, looking down at their project. By now, the planets have been completely labeled. Ms. Hurley stepped towards the pair.

"My, my," the teacher started, "you two are already finished! The other groups are still trying to finish coloring. Your project looks awesome!"

"Thank you, Ms. Hurley. We make a great team!" Fran yelled.

"It seems so. I'll have to pair you two up more often," Ms. Hurley replied, "but for now, you two have free time. Use it wisely," she finishes with a small smirk before walking off to check up on the other groups.

"Yes!" Fran exclaimed, "free time!"

"What should we do?" Frisk asked.

"Hm...maybe we should prepare for the presentation," Fran said.

"Sounds good. So. Should we just take turns or...?"

…

The two gazed down at the handwriting of their teacher. Written in silver Sharpie on the edge of their project was:

100 A+! : D

"Awesome!" Fran yelled as the two high-fived.

"Epic!" Frisk replied, smiling.

"Itward's going be happy! This is the highest grade I've ever got on a group project," Fran said.

"Cool!" Frisk was cut off by the sound of the bell ringing.

"Sounds like it's time for lunch. Shall we?" Fran asked, gesturing towards the door.

"We shall," Frisk replied, grinning as the two walked out the door and happily journeyed to the cafeteria.


	2. It Hunts Me

"This is an example of onomatopoeia! It's got sound words in it," Fran states, holding up the piece of paper to Frisk.

"You're right. Hm, I feel like I just saw that card somewhere around here," Frisk replies, shuffling around somewhere to find the card's match. "Hey, here we are!" They lift the card to Fran, who takes it and sets it atop the example card.

"Okay, now we just need a simile, and then an example of an AABBCC rhyme scheme," Fran observes, shuffling the cards around a bit to tidy them up.

Frisk plucks one of the stray cards up, flipping it over to reveal a Dr. Seuss poem:

"'I do not like green eggs and ham.

I do not like them Sam I am.

I do not like them in a boat.

I do not like them with a goat.

I do not like them in a house.

I do not like them with a mouse.'" Frisk reads, "Ham, am, boat, goat, house, and mouse. Sounds like an AABBCC rhyme scheme to me." They place the example printed neatly on the card onto its term card.

By now, they had several pairs of cards neatly stacked onto their matches scattered throughout the floor around the two.

"I think we're about ready for the teacher to check it," Frisk states, smiling up at the girl.

"Me too," replies Fran.

"I think she'll be over here in a minute," Frisk says, watching their English teacher saunter from one couple to another. The brunette turns their head back to their friend. "So, you can come over on Saturday, right?"

"Yeah. Itward said that I could!" Fran replies, excitement clear in her eyes.

"Yay!" Frisk exclaims happily.

"How's the matching coming along?" asks the teacher when she stops to check in on the girls.

"We're just about finished," Fran answers, positioning the final card onto its twin.

"I'll take a look at it very quickly. I'm sure it's correct!" The teacher bends down to shuffle through the chunks of paper very quickly.

"Ah, you switched up simile and metaphor. What's the difference between them?"

Fran blinked, trying to recall one of the definitions. "A simile is a comparison using like or as! That's where we messed up," she realizes.

"Oh. I guess we weren't paying enough attention," Frisk says with a slight chuckle.

"That's alright. It happens. You two just shuffle up all of the cards, paper clip them together, then put them on my desk."

"Okay. We'll ju-" Fran is interrupted by the familiar ding of the intercom.

Except this time, a familiar feeling winds itself up deep inside her gut, where she had felt most of the emotions that'd kept her alive when she was finding Mr. Midnight. Her senses feel as if they'd been significantly sharpened, like a newly-toned knife ready to pierce anything that crosses its path. Her eyes jump from classmate to classmate to see what the source of this apprehension is. A sense of foreboding enters her mindset as she turns her attention to the intercom. Her body goes rigid for a second, muscles frozen in place as her eyes lock onto the tiny speaker embedded into the wall.

"We're on lockdown, I repeat we are on lockdown!" says the lady, the tone of her voice hinting that this is not a drill. She hangs up with no further context.

It feels as if Fran's heart has crashed into a deep, dark abyss.

"W-what?" Frisk mutters, their eyes growing wide as the signature dark shadow of raw fear crosses their face

Already, Fran feels the adrenaline rush rinsing itself through her veins. It's an all too familiar rush she had hoped she'd never feel again.

"Everyone, in the closet, NOW!" The teacher, usually laid back and fun, had suddenly snapped into her serious mode within the time span of a blink of an eye.

The students stood from their positions, eyeing each other with frightened glances.

"No..." Frisk whispers, fear evident on their face, "please, no...not...not this..."

As the class begins trickling into the closet, Ms. Hurley snatched her keys and the emergency plan clipboard. Frisk hugged Fran's arm as the two made their way into the closet. They could hear the faint noise of the front door's lock clicking followed by the distant tap of their teacher's shoes. Soon, the student's eyes were met by darkness as the teacher hurried into the closet and shut the door before locking it.

"Help me move this shit so we can barricade the door," Ms. Hurley ordered, pointing at a few students, who shuffled to move the various objects from the wall. Frisk grows tenser at hearing their teacher curse.

Ms. Hurley never cursed in front of her students.

The teacher stepped behind a damaged desk that'd been pushed snugly up against the wall before pushing it in front of the door.

Frisk clung tighter to Fran's arm, who gave them a gentle pat in return.

"It's going to be okay," Fran mutters, letting Frisk's head droop onto her shoulder.

"I know," they respond, "I just...don't have good memories. Especially when it comes to death."

"I don't think anyone would," Fran points out.

The two go silent as they watch the silhouette of their teacher lean against the wall next to the makeshift barricade.

"I don't want anyone talking unless they know what the hell's going on," she started. "Put your phones on silent. If you have friends at this school, don't text them. If...if we hear gunshots, you all need to go to the back of the closet. Am I clear?"

There was a whispered chorus of 'yes ma'am's.

"Good. Stay calm; it won't do you any good to panic. If we have to fight, then we'll fight. In the meantime, all we can do is stay put and wait for the police. If anyone finds anything new on what's going on outside, tell me."

Frisk pulls out their phone to text Toriel. If they did start hearing gunshots, then couldn't Sans come teleport kids out of here?

But...he would get too tired too quickly. Frisk bites back tears, their grip on Fran's hand tightening. They send a message to Toriel.

Mom we're on lockdown but we're not sure what's going on. Please let me know if you find anything out.

"Do you have a phone?" Frisk whispers. They see Fran shake her head. "Then text Itward quickly. He needs to know what's going on."

She nods, taking Frisk's phone. Frisk shifts away from Fran as she finished her message.

"Thank you," Fran whispers when she's done before handing the phone back to Frisk, who nods in response.

The class is silent as time ticks on. Any second now. They could hear gunshots and blood-chilling screams any second now. The thought makes their tears spills as they desperately try to remain quiet. Fran hears them sniffle and drapes her around their shoulders. The only light illuminating the closet is the luminescence of several phones pointing at the ceiling. Frisk and Fran hug each other as pieces of rumors float around.

According to one student, there's another shooter in a different school, which both Frisk and Fran have a hard time believing. Someone else states that a class in a separate building heard a gunshot. Another person declares that someone from another class saw something suspicious and called the police.

The teacher seems a bit wary of these tidbits of information as well. Frisk glances at their phone as it vibrates, signaling that they have a new text from Toriel.

Alright, child. Remain calm. I will try my best to keep you updated. Sans has also been made aware of the situation. There is a large police presence at your school, and as of right now we think it is wisest if monsters do not interfere. I love you.

That's right...monsters still were pretty new to the Surface. Frisk doesn't want to think about what would happen if the police saw a monster taking students away with magic.

"M..Ms. Hurley?" Frisk asks, keeping their voice down.

"What it is, Frisk?" the teacher responds.

"My mom said that there's a large police presence here," Frisk informs.

"Okay. That probably means they're going to clear the buildings one by one," Ms. Hurley responds. "It might take a while for them to clear the building, though. Just hang on, everyone."

The apprehension of the situation dragged on. It was now approaching the time they'd normally have break: 9:00 AM. How long have they been on lockdown? Frisk sighs, leaning their head on Fran's shoulder again. She responds by taking Frisk's hand and giving it a squeeze.

"I'm scared," they whisper through their tears.

"I am too," Fran replies, closing her eyes, "but you've got to stay determined, okay?"

"Okay," Frisk murmurs, squeezing their eyes shut.

The darkness enveloping the room seems to get less and less ambient as time trekked forward. The room was much too quiet for Frisk's taste; noise had become part of their comfort ranges. Someone or something was always making noise. People talking, Papyrus and Undyne screeching about something cool, Alphys blubbering about Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, Sans driving everyone to the brink of insanity with his puns, Toriel admonishing Asgore for sneaking a piece of food before dinner.

There was always noise.

Even at school Frisk relied on the chattering of their classmates to calm their nerves. It helped drown out the thoughts of the worst timeline they'd experienced.

The Genocide Run.

Memories of their crazed husk one could call a body slowly trekking through the dustier than usual town of Snowdin.

But nobody came.

Papyrus's betrayed expression as his skull shattered to dust.

But nobody came.

The long journey through Waterfall, where they'd nearly killed Monster Kid when he was just trying to do what was right.

But nobody came.

When they'd relentlessly attacked Undyne as she continued to pull herself together and make it as hard as possible for them to continue.

But nobody came.

Them standing in Judgment Hall, waiting for the hardest battle of their life to play out.

But nobody came.

Their body trembles as they squeeze Fran's hand longer. Their friend responds by bringing them into a full-blown hug, which Frisk gladly accepts. They're positive their tears have stained Fran's pretty yellow dress, but Fran doesn't seem to care.

"Stay determined, Frisk," Fran whispers.

"Wait, I hear something," the teacher states suddenly, her voice low.

"POLICE!" yells an unfamiliar voice outside. Fran hears the door to their classroom slam open. Frisk's eyes widen as they straighten up, the thought of being saved filling them with determination.

"We're in here. Please slide your badge under the door," Ms. Hurley yells before turning towards her class. "Everyone, stand up and put your hands on your head. Don't reach into your pockets."

Frisk and Fran stand along with the rest of the class as the teacher examines the badge that had been slipped under the door. She then pushes the makeshift barricade aside before cautiously unlocking the door and opening it.

A tall police officer stands outside, a loaded assault rifle pointed into the closet, concentration evident on his expression as peers through the crosshairs on the gun. Another officer instructs Ms. Hurley to stand near the back door.

"We're going to pat all of you down. Place your hands on your head and exit the closet in a straight line," another cop orders. Fran lets go of Frisk and the two place their hands on top of their head. The class forms a straight line and begins to exit.

Fran goes in front her friend. The line moves faster than she expects. Before she knows it, the cop instructs her to turn around. He pats her pockets with the back of his hands before sliding them down her legs.

"Alright, go stand next to your teacher," he says. She nods before stepping over there.

Frisk goes next, silently obeying each command. He pats her pocket.

"Is that your phone?" he asks.

"Y-yes, sir," Frisk responds before they're cleared to step over with Fran, who gives them a comforting smile.

The two wait for the rest of the students to be cleared before the small team of police escorts them outside. Keeping their hands on their head while walking to the upper parking lot, where a bland school bus is boarding students for evacuation.

"Why are we being evacuated? Don't you think we would have heard gunshots by now if there actually was a school shooter?" Fran asks no one in particular.

"It must have been a false alarm," the teacher replies.

The statement sends a flood of relief through both Frisk and Fran.

"What do you think happened?" Frisk asks the teacher as the two trek up the ramp.

"I'm not sure," Ms. Hurley admits, "we're still trying to piece together what happened. Everyone else is talking about vastly different scenarios, most of which sound pretty obnoxious."

The two friends nod.

"For now, we'll just have to comply with the police. I think the principle will explain whatever happened later on."

The line leading to the bus has been cut off, and now the police are directing other students to go somewhere. Fran and Frisk are guided to the first building, where they are instructed to sit down in the hallway.

"Why are waiting here, ma'am?" Fran asks one of the police who escorted them.

"Our teams are still clearing the last building," replies the officer.

Fran nods, then sits down with Frisk. "Thank you!"

As the rest of the class gets settled, Fran looks over at Frisk.

"How are you doing?" she inquires, tone soft.

"Better now that it's looking like a scare more than anything," Frisk answers, smiling a bit.

"Good. Has Itward texted back, by chance?"

"Oh, yeah! I didn't notice earlier, but he did. He pretty much just told you what my mom told me," Frisk responded, giggling.

"Oh," she said, smiling too, "ha. I could see him being a mother hen, you know."

"I don't know him, but he does kinda sound like one," Frisk says with a slight grin.

"ALRIGHT, LISTEN UP EVERYONE!" a teacher yells from farther down the hall. "WE'RE GOING TO WALK TO THE CAFETERIA SO THE PRINCIPLE CAN EXPLAIN EVERYTHING! PLEASE PROCEED TO THE NEAREST STAIRCASE!"

…

"The Drama Club was moving a platform and accidentally dropped it, causing a loud bang that sounded like a gunshot to someone," the principle explained to the school after everyone got settled in.

"So, parts of the rumors were true, people were just exaggerating a little," Frisk figures.

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Fran replies. The two turn back to face the principle as he begins speaking again.

"Does anyone have any questions?" asks the principle.

"Can I go home?" yells a kid in the back.

A collective chuckle is emitted from the crowd. "Well, a lot of your parents and guardians are here, so we'll proceed with the check out as normal. You all did a spectacular job with the procedure and listening to the police, who we thank for responding to so quickly. Next time, we will work on better communication so we can omit some of the confusion next time. Any other questions?"

No one says anything.

"Then please exit with your class in an orderly fashion."

…

"Jeez, that was insane!" Fran states once they get back in the classroom.

"I know...uh, Sans is going to pick me up, but...are we still on for Saturday?" Frisk asks.

"Of course!" Fran replies, "you know, we can't let a scare like this get in our way."

Frisk sighs. "I know. I just...I don't know how to explain it. Um...my dunkle is waiting, so...I guess I'll see you Saturday?"

"See you then!" Fran Bow yells, watching as Frisk waves goodbye.

Leaning back, Fran closes her eyes. Today could have been a whole lot worse, and instead it turned out better than she originally thought.

She keeps the incident from today in the back of her mind. Frisk was strong; they could get through this. It only proves how on edge everyone is. Opening her eyes, Fran leans forward. Ms. Hurley instructs the class to clean up their messes from earlier.

So Fran stands, then begins to pick up their cards.

 **OK so this is actually a true story.**

 **One day, I was just chilling in my Criminal Justice class listening to GameChops' Undertale Playlist on Spotify, reading a book when we heard a ton of sirens passing by. No one thought anything of it, though, and we just continued doing what we were doing.**

 **Then the lady announced that we were on lockdown with no further context.**

 **From then on, what happened in the story is pretty much what happened in real life. Here, I wanted to nail the initial feeling of foreboding that I experienced when I heard the announcement. I honestly thought that we were going to hear gunshots at one point and I don't think I was ever as scared as I was in that moment. When I got into my parent's car, I just burst into tears because everything was getting too overwhelming to hold in anymore. I'm one of those people who refuses to cry in public. All I did here was tweak the events and dialogue to fit what the characters would do.**

 **I thought people from our school were going die that day. I was too afraid to text my friends to see if they were OK because I wasn't sure if there was actually a school shooter near their classrooms. I can't imagine actually hearing gunshots and people screaming.**


End file.
